Jon Jones has been neglecting Tom Aspinall’s callouts for a heavyweight title unification fight for over a year now. Aspinall started calling Jones out shortly after his UFC interim heavyweight title victory at UFC 295. Still, there has been no significant advancement regarding its materialization, except for a vague assurance from Dana White.
Aspinall recently mentioned how Jones’ avoidance was taking a toll on his career. Shockingly, ‘Bones’ resorted to a Conor McGregor-esque nature to clap back at his adversary’s comments.
Jon Jones Used a Line Out of Conor McGregor’s Playbook to Mock Tom Aspinall
Jon Jones tried to justify avoiding Tom Aspinall’s callouts by labeling the British heavyweight as an undeserving rival despite his interim champion status. ‘Bones’ mentioned that Aspinall’s resume lacks victories over noteworthy rivals; hence, fighting him would do nothing to improve his exemplary legacy in the sport.
Aspinall accepted an interim title defense fight against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in the wake of Jones’ cold shoulder for his callouts. The Salford native retained his title with a first-round TKO victory over Blaydes, but it couldn’t help him alter the reigning heavyweight champion’s attitude towards the fight.
It has been almost nine months since Aspinall had his last UFC encounter. In a recent appearance on Demetrious Johnson’s “Mighty” podcast, the 32-year-old detailed how his prime was passing away in hopes of fighting for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
An Instagram post from @verdictmma highlighted a section of it where the British heavyweight mentioned that he has no specific interest in fighting Jones. Instead, all he cares about is becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Aspinall said, “I’ve been inactive for nearly a year, and I’m just being told to wait. I don’t care about fighting Jon Jones, I just want to be the undisputed champion.”
Jones used a McGregor-like quote to mock Aspinall about his complaint to the UFC for making him “wait” for the undisputed title fight.
The reigning heavyweight champ’s comment read, “Shut your mouth and do as you’re told.”
McGregor’s original remark differed slightly from what Jones said. ‘The Notorious’ used these words during his interaction with Michael Chandler following his first walk into The Ultimate Fighter 31 gym as ‘Iron’s’ rival coach.
After a handshake session, things soon got heated as McGregor and Chandler talked about their fight set to happen at the end of the TUF season. McGregor bragged about his position in the UFC, which allows him to dictate the terms of the encounter. The Irishman mentioned he wants to fight Chandler at “185 pounds”.
Chandler stated that he was open to McGregor’s challenge, but the former champ-champ opined that ‘Iron’ didn’t have any other option except complying with his conditions. He bragged, “You’ll do what you’re told! I’m going to pin you. This is my game.”
While the fans are eagerly waiting for it, it’ll be interesting to see if a bout between Jones and Aspinall will ever materialize.